


Ghosts

by madwamoose



Series: Spectres of our Inner Souls [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Iron Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Howard Stark's Bad Parenting, Hurt Tony Stark, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Daddy Issues, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark-centric, also everyone else - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-02
Updated: 2017-02-11
Packaged: 2018-09-03 17:44:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8723269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madwamoose/pseuds/madwamoose
Summary: The Avengers have been placed under a spell. Each day, a ghost of a member of the team will haunt them until they face their worst fear and stick up to it. 1st in the Spectres of our Inner Souls series.





	1. Clint

+++

They were fighting a magician from Asgard, Thor said she was named Amora. She had a mini army of soldiers from Asgard. They flew, screeched, and killed. They were currently attacking New York.

"Iron Man, to your left!" Steve yelled, and Tony flew out of the way of a particular annoying monster before frying it.

After around half an hour of hardcore fighting, they finished. Amora had no army, but she was smiling. 

A gas suddenly surrounded the heroes. It even got in Tony's suit which scared him. 

"You don't know enough about your teammates. You need to learn to trust." Amora yelled. "I have placed a spell that will bring out one ghost of your past. Each of you will have your day. Your teammates must watch as you defeat your past, and if any of you interfere, another ghost will pop up. Trust me, some of you have a lot of them." She glared at Steve and... Tony? He knew he had multiple ghosts, but he didn't know Captain America had so much. 

"Amora, enough of this pettiness." Thor bellowed, and Amora laughed before disappearing.

+++

Everyone was on edge, because of the first day, nothing happened. But the second day, Tony awoke to a scream.

He clumsily threw on a shirt and pyjama pants and raced out of his room. The scream had come from Clint’s room, embarrassingly enough for the assassin. “Jarvis, fill me out on the details,” Tony asked as he went down to Clint’s room. 

“Mr. Barton awoke to a man identifying as Barney Barton sitting on his hammock. Barney has been dead for nine years now.” So this was the first ghost. 

When he reached Clint’s room, a shirtless Steve was pounding on the locked metal door. “You could have just asked Jarvis to open it,” Tony said, and Steve stopped banging on the door. Bruce was getting out of his room, looking tired as fuck, but still worried. When Jarvis opened the door, Natasha was already in there with Clint, both looking startled. Clint looked more petrified, actually.

The ghost of Barney was lounging in the hammock, cleaning the bloody arrow in his chest. 

Barney didn’t seem aware of the new visitors, nor Natasha, He was completely ignoring everyone. “Who is that?” Thor suddenly boomed. He must have sneaked in. 

“That’s Clint’s older brother,” Natasha said softly, Clint didn’t bring his gaze away from his brother. He appeared kind of like a rabbit, scared and cautious.

“You didn’t have to kill me, little bro,” Barney said. “We could have just lived a happy life with Mom. You had to ruin it by letting our parents go on that road trip.” Clint shuddered at the harsh words.

Tony knew Clint was hurting. Master assassins kill plenty of people, but murdering a family member must keep him up all night. He also understood the pain of losing a loved one in a car crash. He had lost his mother to one.

“You were the one who abandoned me,” Clint muttered. “Yeah, for good reason. You were weak.” Barney’s words had a big effect on the archer.

“An older brother would never leave his younger one to die.” He whispered.

“Don't you get it? We stopped being brothers the minute Mom and Dad’s death was on the news.”

Tony clenched his fists, but he knew Clint had to take on his own ghosts by himself. Amora said so.

“You know what?” Clint said. Barney cocked an eyebrow. “What?” 

“Fuck you. Fuck you and your excuses and your lies. Fuck you and everything you did to ‘protect’ me. You did nothing but hurt me. So fuck you.” Barney’s eyes went wide before he disappeared with a pop.

Clint sighed before going limp against his modified bed. “Are you in need of assistance, Mr. Barton?” Jarvis asked. “I’m fine.” He said quietly, before grabbing a blanket covered in arrows (a gift Tony gave him last Christmas) and wrapping it around himself.

Tony’s blood boiled. Why’d Clint have to be first? Little known to the other Avengers, Tony was fiercely protective of his close friends, and even though the Avengers had been added to that mix only for a short while, he would still kill for them.

“Do you want a drink?” Bruce asked, a slight tinge of green in his irises. Clint nodded, and Bruce went off to the kitchenette. He returned shortly with a glass of water. Clint took the glass with shaky hands.

“I had no idea,” Steve said softly. 

“Well, I don’t exactly go around saying ‘Hi, I’m Clint Barton, Master assassin. My parents died in a car accident because my goddamn father drank too much, and I killed my brother with his own arrow.” His voice was nearly cracking at the end.

“He’s not your brother.” Tony snapped. Heads turned to him, including Clint. “A brother wouldn’t cause you that much sorrow.” 

“But he raised me-”

“Fuck with that. My dad raised me, and I would never call him a father.” Surprisingly, it was Bruce who interrupted. 

Clint took a small sip of water. “Yeah, okay.” He looked dizzy. “Why don’t you go to sleep?” Natasha asked him, and he nodded, before falling unconscious, the glass of water spilling on the bed.

The avengers, minus Natasha, slowly filed out of the room.

“I didn’t know,” Steve repeated. “None of us knew, Friend Steve. Amora must pay.” Thor looked murderous.

“Hey, Blondie. This is going to be over in a week, so we could just wait it out. Plus, Amora disappeared to god knows where. By the time we find her, it will be months.” Tony reminded him. Tony wasn’t exactly wishing for his day, but he knew everyone had to get over their ghosts.

“The man of iron is correct.” Thor boomed, before walking off to his bedroom.

Tony checked his watch for the time. It was roughly five in the morning. No wonder he was so tired. Without further ado, Tony stumbled to his room and collapsed on his bed. The next week was going to be busy.


	2. Thor

Tony awoke the next day to his phone going off. It was playing one of his favorite songs, Shoot to Thrill. He recognized the tune and who it was arranged for. It was set for Bruce.

"Yeah?" Tony answered groggily. "What is it, Brucey?"

"It's Thor," Bruce said breathlessly. "Get down here." He hung up. Nice.

Tony wondered what kind of ghosts a god could have. Weren't they immortal? Then again, he's been alive for more than 2000 years. He's probably gone to Earth a couple times. He's probably seen more death than anyone. Maybe a fallen comrade. Tony wasn't sure.

Tony changed into some jeans and a brown shirt quickly before making his way downstairs. 

In no way was he expecting a bloody woman to be sitting in his chair. She was beautiful, sure, but her eyes were cold. Her hair was extravagant, and her clothes looked very expensive. The stab mark in her middle was still leaking blood, not actually staining the ground.

She was glaring at Thor, who was currently breaking one of the wooden chairs with his fists. He looked murderous. The woman was much older than him, she might have been his mother.

Natasha was looking back and forth between the two, so was Clint. They were waiting for the woman to say something.

Bruce seemed slightly nervous, along with Steve. They both didn't really know how to handle themselves in these situations. 

Finally, she spoke. "You were always a stubborn child." She pondered. She had a regal voice. "Never let Loki play with a toy you were playing with, never apologized if you truly didn't mean it, but this is very immature and childish of you."

"You died." Thor thundered (pun not intended). "You died protecting Lady Jane, Mother. Even though I love her with all my heart, you were the one who raised me." Gods could die. Tony added that to his massive span of knowledge. He didn't know that.

"Everything pretty is meant to die." She waved a hand. So she was his mother. They had the same hair. "It was fate."

"Fate can always be changed." 

"No, it can't."

"Yes, it can! I could have saved you!" Thor ripped apart the wood with his hands. Tony wanted to stop him, but hat would count as interfering.

"But you didn't. I am perfectly fine with being dead."

"I am not."

This was an impressive argument. Going back and forth, like it was a script. Thor knew what to say, but his mother was even better at a debate. No wonder she was once the Queen.

"My son." She began. "I know I was murdered, but you have to move on. Please. I would have a better time in my grave if you would not blame yourself over this. I have already seen how Odin is, and I can't bear this." Near the end, her voice grew unstable, trembling like a newborn bird or one of those stupid chihuahuas.

Thor contemplated before a tear dripped down his cheek. Tony was shocked. Sure, Thor cried when they watched The Notebook, but this was true heart-wrenching sadness. "If I do move on, will I ever see you again soon?" He asked, in an almost pleading like nature.

"Probably not, my son. Until you pass on yourself, which will hopefully never be for a very long time. You still have to rule Asgard."

Thor nodded. "All right, Mother. I do not blame myself for your death."

The woman smiled before she faded, which was very different from Barney's violent pop. 

Thor sighed before fresh tears leaked out of his eyes. 

Tony wanted to comfort the god, but Clint got there first. Clint went up to Thor and hugged him gently. Thor returned it, nearly sucking the air out of the archer, but Clint didn't move, which proved how much willpower he had.

Steve grabbed a box of tissues and pop tarts and handed them to the god, who took them with thanks. One hand held a tear-stained tissue and the other held a half eaten Smores pop tart.

No one spoke for a long time until Steve asked: "What happened to her?"

"She was my mother, Queen of Asgard. When Lady Jane came to Asgard, men threatened to kill her if she did not give them the location of my Lady. My Mother refused, and they stabbed her." He started to cry again, and faint thunder could be heard in the distance.

"The funeral was traditional, but Loki couldn't be there. He was in the prisons. The entirety of Asgard mourned for her, and if they haven't, Father and I would have ripped them apart one by one."

"I'm sorry," Steve said softly, not seeming that disturbed over the fact Thor had threatened thousands of people. Thor shook his head. "Don't be, Man of America. I have only lost my mother. I understand everyone here has lost far more than me."

"Thor, your brother hates you and threatened to take over Earth. He's now in eternal punishment. It is not a contest to see who has lost more." Natasha spoke up. Thor looked at her. "True." He sniffled.

The group stays like that for the majority of the day, comforting the Asgardian. "Guys, I'm gonna make dinner. Does take out sound good?" Tony asked. 

"That isn't exactly making dinner, but sure," Clint replied. Tony went off into the other room and dialed a random pizza number.

"Chika Chika's special Pizza, how may I help you?" A perky girl said through the phone.

"Seven large pizzas. Three meat lovers, one anchovies, two vegetarian, one Hawaiian, one cheese." Tony said automatically. The three meat lover pizzas were for Thor. Clint had the anchovies. Steve had the cheese, Bruce had one of the vegetarians, and Natasha had the other. Hawaiian was for himself.

"Alright then, Sir. Where is your location?"

"Bring 'em to Stark Tower."

The girl made a keening noise and forgot to hang up as she yelled. "Guys! Tony Stark is ordering pizza!" And multiple people start screaming, and Tony think one had fainted.

10 minutes later, Jarvis said, "There is an adolescence outside asking for access."

"Granted, Jarvis baby. Just the lobby, though." He turns to the rest of the team. "I'll go get our dinner."

He went downstairs to see a poor 17-year-old with horrible acne and curly hair that was messed up gazing restlessly around the lobby, eyes wide and innocent. Tony takes the pizza and puts a wad of dollars in the boy's hand. "That should be enough."

The boy wandered out, still star-struck, or stark struck (bad pun) and Tony went upstairs. The team was now all sitting on the sofas comfortably. Thor had picked a movie, Up, which was a tearjerker but Thor requested it because he liked the idea of a floating house.

Tony puts the boxes on the table and sits down next to Bruce on the left couch.

They watched the movie, which had even Natasha in slight tears at the beginning. 

When Tony packed up the leftovers and was returning to his room, he was stopped by Thor. "Thank you, Man of Iron."

He was confused. "What have I done?"

"You were there for me in my time of need." Thor strode away, and Tony blinked before going to his room, not even bothering to undress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed Thor feels! Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	3. Natasha

Tony hadn't gotten this much sleep in a long time. He was usually awake for 48 hours at a time, but the Enchantress problem was making him extra tired. He quickly looked to his right and left, and sighed in relief when he saw that no one was in his room. He really couldn't put up with him feeling triple shitty and exposing his life to his teammates. That was the last thing he wanted to do. Heck, he would rather change his name and move to the wilderness of Greenland with nothing but socks. 

He checked the time, and he realized it was rather early. Six o'clock. He still got up to grab some coffee. Steve was already in the kitchen, preparing himself an omelet. He raised his brow at him. "Why are you up so early?" "Dunno." Tony moved to the coffee machine, where he quickly made himself a nice cup of hazelnut flavored coffee.

"Sir, last night, there was a call from Directer Fury." Tony froze. "Why didn't you tell me at the moment, Jarvis?" 

"It was at exactly 1:07 am, and you were sound asleep. Fury was fine with it. He wants a meeting at noon today." Tony's stomach turned. It was either Natasha or Bruce that could have a ghost today because Thor and Clint have already gone, Tony didn't have his ghost standing next to him, and Steve had no ancient looking friends surrounding him.

"Is it absolutely critical?"

"No, Sir. A simple debriefing. Can be done on Saturday." Saturday was after the last day full of ghosts.

"Good. Book it then." "Very well, Sir." Steve still looked startled from hearing Jarvis. He was from the 40's, he was probably never going to adapt. Tony sipped his mug and sat down on one of the stools. After a couple minutes of sitting next to each other, Thor came in. Loudly. "Hello, my friends!" He boomed. It was quieter than his usual tone, but still very boisterous. "Hey, Thor." Tony greeted him. Bruce was after him, not looking as tired as the days before. Tony knew something was wrong for a second. Nothing else was out of order, except for the fact...

"Shit." He mumbled, loud enough for only Bruce to hear. "What?" Bruce asked him, furrowing his brow. "Natasha." That's all it took for Tony to jump up and practically run to Natasha's bedroom. He knocked on her door softly. A choked "Come in." was heard. Tony slowly opened the door, and the sight almost made him sick with worry.

Natasha was huddled in many blankets, but she was still shivering. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused, and she was unnaturally pale. Her hair was slick with sweat and sticking to her forehead and neck. There was a girl standing at the foot of her bed. Around 18, with wavy blond hair, startling brown eyes, and a look of horror on her face. There was a bullet wound in her temple, still trickling blood.

Natasha seemed to shake when she looked at the girl, so Tony sat down next to his favorite girl assassin (and only known girl assassin) and tried to soothe her, which actually worked. She managed to calm down a bit, but not by much. Bruce was at the door in an instant, and when he saw Natasha, he quickly went in the direction of Clint's room. "What is wrong, Lady Natasha?" Thor asked, but Nat didn't seem to hear him, which worried Tony. She was too worked up. Steve soon joined them, along with Bruce and an anxious looking Clint Barton. He immediately sought out Natasha and sat on her other side.

The girl seemed to come to life. "Nat." She said quietly. Her voice was croaky. "Why'd you leave me?"Natasha shook, and Tony's arms tightened around her protectively. He's never seen her in this state, and he didn't like it one bit, He loved her like the sister he never had. "We had a plan, Nat. We had a plan!" The girl's voice increased in volume. "You would shoot the instructors while I would disable the cameras, but you let one get away! You let them get me!"

Natasha began to shake back and forth, muttering in Russian. "Oh, you didn't mean it?" The girl spoke again. "You didn't mean it? It was Yakov you forgot to shoot, you knew he was going to get me. You let him go." Natasha muttered something again in her native language. A tear made it's way down her cheek. The blond plowed on. "You still left, even though he killed me. You could have killed him, but you didn't. You call yourself an Avenger. You never avenged me!"

Natasha took a shaky breath. "Alyona, I'm sorry."

The girl, newly christened Alyona, didn't seem to recognize the apology. "You don't deserve to live. You should have died instead of me." That struck a nerve in Tony. If Nat died, then the team would crumble to bits like a saltine cracker in the hands of Thor. He forced back a retort because Natasha didn't need another ghost to conquer. This one was already too hard. 

"Please, Alyona. Stop this." She whispered. Alyona seemed to freeze at her whisper. And then began to shout. "I was murdered by the worst man we have ever met, and you tell me to stop? You are unbelievable."

"Maybe I am unbelievable, but I recognize the fact that you were moving much too slowly towards the security room. If you had gone through the vents, you could have avoided being shot. I'm not saying it's your fault, but it's sure as hell, not mine." Alyona disappeared with a noise similar to one of those squeaky fireworks, the ones that go screeeeeeee and usually burst into goldfish or dragonflies.

Natasha looked shaken, so shaken that Tony wanted everyone to go away so he could comfort her alone. But it was above impossible to kick everyone out after that happened. He cautiously put a hand to her still pale face and realized she was much too warm to be healthy. "What's her temperature, Jarvis?"

"Miss Romanoff's temperature resides at 101.3, sir." That meant a fever. He cursed under his breath. Now he had to take care of not only a traumatized assassin but a sick one too. "Steve, could you get her some water and Advil?" Steve was off in a flash, coming back quickly with a small bottle of the familiar pills and a glass of water. 

"Natasha, please take this. You'll feel better." He asked the spy, and she took the medication, hands still trembling like mad. After a moment of silence. Thor decided to assassinate the elephant in the room. "Who was the blond, Lady Natasha?" "Her name was Alyona." Natasha began. "She was my only friend in the red room. We planned to escape a week after my 19th birthday. I killed everyone in there, not including the other girls training with us, but I let one get away, who later caught her. She didn't make it."

"I didn't realize it had such a big effect on you," Clint muttered under his breath, but Tony and Natasha still heard him. Natasha seemed too tired to fight, but Tony was livid.

"How would you like to see your best friend die right in front of your eyes when you knew you could stop it?" Tony asked him, clenching his fists. Clint didn't speak after that, they just focused on keeping Natasha company by not doing anything. She seemed to enjoy it, though. After a couple hours, her fever went down and Tony could tell she was exhausted. "I'll let you get some sleep." He told her, and walked out of the room, the rest of the team slowly following.

"Sir, there are several missed calls from Directer Fury."

Tony sighed before saying "Jarvis, tell him I don't give a fuck unless it's absolutely critical. I'm going to work."

A few hours later, there was a knock on his lab door. It was Steve. Toyn put the gauntlet he was working on down and walked to the door. "Yes, Cap?" "Dinner is in ten minutes. You going to join us?" Tony thought about it before replying. "Sure."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed Natasha's chapter. Please tell me what you think!


	4. Bruce

Tony didn't sleep that night. The ghost of that stupid girl was stuck in his head. Natasha was plagued with nightmares, so he spent his night comforting her and working on a design for Clint's new bow. Nat was up at seven. She was back to her cold self, but Tony knew she was putting up a mask to hide her feelings. He did it all the time. They were currently playing a game of checkers (Tony was winning, of course) when an alarm started flashing. It was not loud, but certainly not quiet. "Code green, Code green."

Tony paled. This alarm was set for one special person. One special dangerous person. Very dangerous. Like, really dangerous. He got out of Nat's room, the Russian at his heels, and silently padded his way to a certain man's room. He opened the door as quietly as he could.

Bruce was huddled on his bed in nothing but pajamas, desperately trying to calm himself with some breathing patterns, but it didn't seem to be working. Once Tony got a look at the man looming over his friend. he realized why. Bloodshot eyes, pale complexion, messy hair. Hunched over, looking sick as a dog. Tony's seen the pictures. Brian Banner. That sick man didn't deserve to even walk on this planet, after all, the suffering he put Bruce through. He knew the danger of Bruce turning was 50/50, but he would try and stay on the side where there is no jolly green.

When Nat came in, she took a sharp breath, and immediately turned on her heel, probably to get the rest of the team so Bruce wouldn't have to suffer any longer. "Bruce," Tony muttered quietly, moving next to his science bro. "Come on man. I don't think you want to have a rampage now. I just got new walls." Tony knew that if it was one thing Bruce appreciated, it was when people joked when he was on the brink of turning. Tony continued to talk to Bruce, keeping his attention away from the glowering spirit, until the rest of the team arrived. 

The superhero group all sat in various places. Clint on Bruce's desk, Thor stood, Steve in Bruce's office chair, Natasha on the bed, and Tony grabbed a foldable chair. 

"You're a monster. A monster, I tell you, a monster!" The yell was loud and the voice cracked like a whip, but Bruce flinching was the main reason why fury started to grow in Tony. "You let me kill her. You let me! I asked you if I should drink whiskey that night, but you didn't say a word." Bruce's eyes had begun to turn green, but if Tony interfered, his friend would have to deal with another ghost, resulting in an even madder hulk. "You shouldn't be here! You should have never come out of me and my wife's love. You aren't worth all the trouble."

"Stop it," Bruce muttered, but his father kept on ranting. "You are nothing. You couldn't prevent the death of the only person I love, so it makes sense that you can't even defend yourself properly." Bruce's eyes were glowing very dangerously. Tony wished he could make this stop. He didn't deserve this. No one did. "You are worthless." That made Bruce snap. It didn't make him turn, but it sure did make him angry.

"Why don't you shut the hell up and go back to your grave?" Bruce screamed. His father looked taken aback, his bloodshot eyes widening. "You were the one who killed my mother! I knew her as well! Why don't you just go to hell?" Brian looked shocked before he vanished. The green from Bruce's eyes faded out, and when he realized what he had done, he buried his face in his hands and began to sob.

Tony didn't need to be told twice, he wrapped Bruce in a tight embrace. Bruce wrapped his arms around the billionaire, crying into his shoulder. Normally, Tony loathed physical contact. He avoided it at all times. Bruce was an exception. Surprisingly, Natasha was the next one to join. And then Thor, next Clint, and finally Steve. It was one big bundle of superhero. "Uh, guys? You wanna watch The Big Bang Theory?" Bruce mumbled, and everyone let go, nodding.

Bruce and Tony enjoyed the show because it was full of science puns. Clint always remarked that he felt dumb while watching it, but he kept quiet today. After a couple episodes, Tony's phone rang. He checked the ID, and it was work. He looked over at Bruce, before turning it off. His friend needed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one and the next one will be short.


	5. Steve

Let's just say that Tony was exhausted. Exhausted was the word that covered what he was feeling right now. He had to deal with (uh) feelings for four days now, from both himself and his teammates. He hated seeing them in pain. He got maybe a couple hours of sleep, but he woke up at around one in the morning and worked on the new StarkPad. He was almost done the new update when he realized it was eight o'clock. Seven fifty-five was usually when Capsicle would come downstairs and force him to eat, but he was a no-show. When Tony was in the elevator, he got a call. "Hello?"

"Tony, we need your help." Feminine. It was Nat, no doubt. "On my way, itsy bitsy spider." In no way was Tony prepared for the yelling as soon as he walked into the super soldier's bedroom. "Rebecca, please!" A girl was sitting haughtily on Steve's artist stool. She had dark hair and eyes, resembling someone Tony couldn't place his finger on. No blood, no nothing, except for a little pale. "Don't you please me, Captain America!" Oh great. A sass master. "My brother saved you countless times, but the one time he needs you most, you can't save him?"

"Rebecca-"

"Don't call me that, like you are a friend. You are not a friend. You would have saved him." Steve wasn't crying yet, but he was close to. Tony realized that if anything, Rebecca hadn't let Steve go. The strings suddenly matched. Rebecca Barnes, younger sister of Bucky Barnes. A month Steve's 'death', Rebecca was put in a home for the insane and depressed. Howard never spoke to her. She committed suicide in the home a year later with a bottle of pills she had snuck in. She was 15. Tony always thought about how badly she had it. Her brother and his best friend 'died' when she was young. He wanted so badly to tell Steve, but he knew another ghost would appear. Damn Amora.

"I waited for you to come back! I did! But no, you had to 'put her in the water'!" Steve made a choking noise at that. "You didn't have to leave me. Bucky left me, and so did you!"

"I was saving the country." The soldier almost whispered. The ghost scoffed. "The country, not me! The toll you took on everyone was massive! Howard wouldn't speak to me, and Peggy said he was going insane, and Peggy was upset for a long time. Of course, they thought that I was depressed, so they put me in a fucking cell!" Steve flinched. Tony himself shivered at the mention of his father. "Why did you even go off to war?" Rebecca suddenly was quiet and had tears brimming in her dark eyes. "Becks, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for making you upset, and for leaving you. But it's not my fault. It hurts me to say so, but if you want to blame someone, go blame fate." Steve said the words carefully, as if his friend was a landmine, just itching to blow up. Rebecca's disappearance was different from the rest. She vanished like a jigsaw puzzle, one piece after the other.

The team was slightly disturbed. Clint and Natasha's faces were blank, only their eyes betrayed them, showing shock. Bruce and Thor weren't afraid to show it, but Tony wanted to make his spangly friend feel better. So, he went to the small kitchenette and made some tea. Tony actually loathed tea, he found it much too sweet and if not sweet, much too bitter. Coffee surpassed it by millions of miles. He knew that Bruce and Steve had a fondness for it, so he made tea. He grabbed a Captain America mug, a gift from himself, and returned, handing the tea to his slightly shaking teammate, who muttered thanks and grasped the cup like a lifeline. If the cup wasn't made out of almost indestructible metal, then it probably would have crushed and Tony's tea would have gone to waste.

Tony wasn't exactly sure on what to do. He knew how to deal with everyone else because he knew them more, but they didn't really like each other. Steve so Howard as a great man, but only Tony (maybe Natasha as well) knew how bad Howard got. "What happened to her?" Steve asked, his voice trembling. "She-she was put in a home. Diagnosed with depression. Took her own life after roughly a year." Natasha said, her voice sympathizing, not cold, as it usually was. Steve shuddered and took a sip of his warm drink. He didn't speak until almost a minute later. "It's just... she had her whole life in front of her. She could have grown up to be someone great. She always talked about becoming a pilot. She just dwelled in the past for too long."

"Isn't that what you're doing, Captain?" Very surprisingly, Thor had joined in. "You have been thinking of the past since you've gotten out of it. You talk about your wins and losses a lifetime ago. That was another life. You have a chance to be better than before. Why not take it?" Steve pondered that. "Yes, I suppose I have." The rest of the day (for the other avengers) continued normally. Steve had said he didn't want anyone to waste their day, but Tony refused to leave. He knew the leader was going to need comfort. Steve was busily sketching a picture of his outside window when Tony broke the silence. "Approximately how bad are you feeling right now?"

"Bad," Steve replied, dropping his pencil, almost ruined the window to the far right. "I mean, why this from Amora? She likes seeing us suffer, but why to like this?"

"She doesn't realize what she is doing is good, actually." Tony thought out loud. "And how exactly is this good?" Steve demanded. "A team can never work if they cannot trust or know each other well enough. We don't really trust, therefore we cannot defeat our enemies sufficiently. Right now, our secrets are being exposed. It helps us."

"You are right."

"Aren't I always?"

"Shut it, Stark."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this chapter. Tony's will be released sometime next week and it's much longer.


	6. Tony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING! Has mentions of abuse.

Tony knew he was screwed the minute he opened his eyes. 

Tony hadn't meant to pass out. He was sciencing way too hard last night and time caught up to him. The man who gave Tony nightmares still today was glaring down at him in an expression that could only mean disgust and hatred. He really didn't want to get out of the makeshift cot, but he knew he would have to. The longer it took, the longer he would have to look at this man. He sure as hell didn't want to have this man staring at him all day. Tony trudged into the elevator. His father followed, his footsteps silent. When he reached the lounge room, he almost fell into his armchair. It was a special armchair. He bought it while drunk on Amazon. It was leather and very comfortable. He avoided the gaze of the four members of his team. Clint wasn't there yet.

Natasha immediately recognized the man, and inside, she was seething. She should have known it would be him. Of course, it would be him. She assumed it would have been one of the kidnappers from Afghanistan or even Obadiah. 

Bruce had a terrible father, he knew what they were like. He had recognized the same mannerisms they both obtained, such as the ability to deflect with humor (well, Bruce stopped after the Hulk). They both hated physical contact and Tony even couldn't stand having people hand him things.

Thor, unlike what others perceive of him, was quite wise, even if he was pigheaded at moments and not quite so near the level of intelligence of his brother or friend Stark. He has lived with Loki for long enough to know that Stark and his adoptive brother were quite alike. Both hid their true feelings under a mask of snark. Thor quite liked Stark and never really assumed anything remotely horrible could have happened in his friend's childhood.

Steve and Tony didn't get along. It was like telling the well mannered Mormon to hang out with the school prankster. Just didn't work. Howard and Steve got along, though. Tony was so similar to Howard it hurt. They both flirted as normally as breathing, their intelligence levels surpassed all others, and both looked alike, with the shared dark eyes and hair. Steve would have guessed that Howard would be Tony's ghost. Tony's father died when he was 17. That has to hurt. When Steve lost his mom, it hurt. 

Tony felt slightly dizzy, as in a sick way. His father was here, why him, why him, why him? He wanted to be sick, but at the same time that would show weakness and surely his father would scold him for that. Why was he even acting this way? His friends had to see their dead ghosts, but he could barely handle his? He really was pathetic. Clint had walked in and when he saw the sight in front of him, he couldn't help but mutter "Shit." Nat gave him a look, but not a dirty one. A concerned one. Clint shared the concern. Tony was in his armchair, shivering slightly. His eyes were wide open and frightened, a sight that Clint had never seen. A tall, silvery figure was towering over his friend. He was wearing a suit and his hair was fashionably slicked back. Howard Stark.

Clint was an assassin. He knew how to read people as easy as a book. The only four people he had ever had trouble reading were Nick Fury, Natasha, his own brother, and Tony Stark. The man was so good at hiding his true feelings that even Natasha was fooled for about half a year or so. For Clint, it was a year. The guy was stubborn, snarky, and sometimes infuriating, but he was good.

Tony was slightly aware of Clint arriving, but fully aware of his panic rising. His father was going to hurt him. Sure enough, his father started speaking. "You know, I never wanted a child. I never wanted a wife, either. I just wanted a nice happy life, building weapons and helping out Steve and Peggy. But then Steve had to be a hero and landed the plane in the goddamn arctic!" Tony shivered at the words. He always did. Howard would recall these things before pulling out the big guns. "I was never mad at him. How could I be mad at a perfect man? After that, Rebecca killed herself and Peggy and I created SHIELD. Stark Industries was becoming more and more popular. Then I met Maria.

"She was timid and way too caring for her own good. Peggy insisted I get to know her. Soon enough, I married her. She was perfect, well, until she insisted we have a child." His father made a face. "Why she wanted one, I do not know. She begged for years before I finally gave in." A dry, bitter chuckle. "Why, oh why did I agree? Out of all the things I could have done, I had to have a son as bad as you. Stubborn, ignorant, and arrogant. Suppose you got stubborn and arrogant from me." Tony was aware that he had pulled his knees up to his chin, his arms around his legs, making himself smaller. He wanted to disappear. "You're pathetic. Look at you. A grown man, thrown to hysterics. How could I ever let you take over the company? Obi would have been better."

'Obi was a traitor.' Tony wanted to say, but the words wouldn't come out. He really was pathetic, driven to muteness from simply being yelled at by Howard. "I spent the rest of my life trying to teach you how to be better, but you simply shrug me off. Your own father! You could have gotten into MIT much quicker if you followed my advice and learning techniques for more than a year." Tony couldn't hide the shudder this time. His father had taken it to be his job to teach him, and... the punishments were simply awful. No need to get into them now. "You are useless!" He could feel the eyes on him. The hard green eyes of Natasha scanning his emotions, Clint's horrified dark ones, Steve's terrified blue irises, Thor's careful and wise optics, and Bruce's slightly green orbs. Don't forget Howard's judging, hateful brown eyes.

Tony felt dizzy but managed to mutter "I'm glad you died. I'm practically full to the brim with happiness that you are dead, and if the Universe is just, you would be so far down in hell itself that you could never be able to crawl out." His words were quiet and shaky, but that seemed to be enough for Howard. The noise of him disappearing was so loud that the ground shook. A Jackson Pollock fell to the ground, so did a nice vase. Tony would have winced, Pepper would be absolutely livid since the vase was worth thousands, but he was too mentally exhausted to ponder it. Everything was deliciously silent for a second, but it became deafening and much too loud and everyone was looking at him and he was falling down, down, down and no one was grabbing his hands to pull him from the mess, also called Tony Stark's mind. He was stuck, falling forever, never reaching an end and it was frightening him and he could feel the coldness settle in and-

Hands were on his face, a commanding voice doing its correct job, which was commanding, him to breathe. He wasn't aware that he wasn't breathing, but when he focused on it, it became impossible. He could feel his lungs begging for even a glimpse of oxygen, but he couldn't do it. He really was a failure. Not just in his father's eyes, but everyone else's, including his own, as well. "Tony, listen to me!" The voice stuck out from the sea of other sounds Tony failed to make out. He paid attention to those found words. "I need you to take a breath in. A big one. Now." Tony tried his best to follow the instructions, but he was slipping. "Now exhale." He did so, even though it was hard. He continued to follow the directions, slowly coming back to the lounge room. Bruce was kneeling in front of him, his eyes such a green that if he turned, it could leave to the destruction of Harlem (again), along with Nat. Clint was pacing. Thor and Steve were on either side of the armchair, both looking extremely worried but also confused. "Tony?" He turned his slightly watery eyes over to Clint. "You okay?"

Tony couldn't find his voice, so instead, he just let the tears go down his face, a thing he hadn't done in front of people since he was 17, after the death of his mother (Howard definitely not included). He felt strong arms wrap around him, and he didn't hesitate in practically melting into them, sobbing silently. The anguish and terror and hardship of many years all went into that cry. He felt other pairs of arms reaching, forming a group hug. Tony eventually stemmed the tears. He slowly pulled away, wiping his eyes. The team also pulled away, all standing awkwardly. Tony could have made at least 9 different jokes, but all he felt like doing was curling up in his room and making fun of people who 'understood' science. Except for Bill Nye. He really was the Science Guy. "Do we have to hug again?" Clint tried to go for a joke, but Natasha slapped him across the face. Tony shook his head. "Tony, are you sure your okay?" Steve asked, concerned. Bruce turned to the super soldier, infuriated. "Of course he's not okay! His father, the one who constantly beat him and verbally abused him and ridiculed him, came back to life to tell him what a failure he was in his eyes. We were all not okay, and Tony helped us the best he could and when it's his turn, Clint and you joke about his feelings!

"I know you never really knew your father, Steve, but I do know Bucky was like a brother to you. Imagine he constantly beat you." Steve looked stricken. "Yeah, that's what I thought. A father is someone who is supposed to be kind and loving, not the exact opposite. For 17 years he had to go through that and do you know what you two do?" Bruce was furious, his eyes dangerously green but no one could stop him. "You ask him if he's okay and joke about his state of weakness." Bruce starts to do some breathing exercises to keep Jolly Green from making an appearance. Clint and Steve look equally shocked. Thor grabbed Tony's arm gently, but he still flinched. "Come, my friend." He murmured, and Thor leads Tony to another room. The kitchen. Thor sullenly puts some cinnamon Pop-tarts in the toaster (Thor never does anything sullenly, especially not pop tart time) and brings out two plates.

"Do you wish to talk about the past events, Man of Iron?" Tony shook his head. "Very well. May I tell a tale of my childhood?" Tony nodded just as the pop tarts came out. Thor grabbed them and handed a plate to Tony. He began to recount a story of how Thor and Loki stole some horses and left Asgard for the day. Odin and Frigga had thought they were kidnapped, and Tony almost cracked a smile at the ending. Sometime during the story, Natasha had walked in, sitting next to Tony, taking most of his pop tart since he was only eating little bits.

"My friend, please know that everything that foul man said are false. You are worth everything to your Lady Pepper, and us. Never forget that." Tony nodded, for the first time believing the words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only an epilog to go!


	7. Fury

Nick Fury sat in his office, eyeing the six people in front of him. He wasn't sure what it was, but he knew something was off. 

Agent Romanoff, the Black Widow, had messy hair (usually, it was gleaming and curled) and chapped lips. Instead of the usual black suit, she wore while in SHIELD, she had an old gray sweater Nick hadn't seen since she'd broken out of the Red Room. She looked like she had spent a week in the Arctic. 

Agent Barton looked in a similar state after the mission in Budapest. Bitten nails (a bad habit the agent always had) and bruises were on his knuckles, probably from punching a sand bag too hard. He was also wearing something different from his usual attire, a dark red t-shirt. The same dark red used for Trick Shot's suit.

Captain Rogers also revealed signs of punching too hard, the s.ightest visible red tinge to his hands and cheeks. He wore his usual button-down and pants, but he had a necklace on underneath it. The slightest outline showed dog tags. 

Dr. Banner showed no signs of anger, yet he kept his distance from Captain Rogers and Agent Barton. He was near Stark and his stance showed protection and he was favoring his right wrist. For what reason, Nick didn't know.

The alien, Thor, appeared murderous. Also standing near Stark, he had clenched fists and was holding his hammer tightly. On his left wrist sat a golden bracelet. It was elegant, something a queen would wear.

Speaking of Stark, he looked the worst out of all of them. Wide eyes, nervous expression, mussed hair, he was like a rabbit. 

Nick felt something. Compassion, maybe. He felt bad for these six people, even if they were aliens, murderers, smart asses, cocky shits, and a time bomb. He simply stared at them before uttering "Leave. I'll postpone the meeting until next weekend."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it's so short. The next book will be posted sometime before May.

**Author's Note:**

> I have this on FF.net. I hope others on here will enjoy it as well.


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